Deflection
by Raiegki Leviathan
Summary: [Sequel to Fantasy Mirror and Innocence] You were up against a fantasy version of yourself, Sonic. You stood no chance.


**A/N:** Wow. I don't remember the Sonic section being so shallow. I get my head bitten off, chewed up, spit back out, doused in kerosene, and then set on fire just because I decided that my story shouldn't have a happy ending.

Blah.

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**Deflection

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**

Something had changed in Sonic after his violent break up with Amy Rose. He refused to speak of it to anyone, not even Tails. Especially not Tails. Every time the young fox would ask, his blue idol would only just look away, as if he were ashamed of himself. All anyone knew was that what many thought was the eternal couple – was merely mortal. There were many signs that the day would come, such as Sonic's inability to do what he promised and Amy's growing discontent with him, but despite seeing it coming for a while, everyone was completely shocked when they heard the news.

Hedgehogs. Far too stubborn for their own good.

Sonic could never stay in one place for long, but his resolve was immovable. Until he found out that it wasn't as solid as he thought it was. His steadfast heart of gold was shaken and destroyed by a dainty little girl in a red dress.

Okay, he hadn't been able to commit. But Sonic was still in love with her. They last saw each other an entire month ago, the night they clashed and tumbled. The blue blur had no idea where she had gone off to, but nobody has seen Amy Rose since. He had gone to her home, only to find it empty, dark, and silent, opposite of the pink, energetic one who once occupied it. So full of energy and so full of life. Forever gone from his arms. Already the place was seeking a new tenant, and when asked where the previous resident had gone, the landlord merely shrugged and said that it was no responsibility of his.

_Of course not._ He lamented. _I was responsible for Amy._ And it was indeed his fault that she left, or so it seemed. He had been too wrapped up in himself to notice and care for Amy's needs. And suddenly, Sonic found himself without a purpose. Without a direction in life. What was he to do now? Where was he to go? Sonic was a drifter by nature, but that side of him calmed down and quieted, subdued and overpowered by his grief, especially when his free spirit was exactly the cause for their separation.

Love wins over heart, yet one's true spirit cannot be suppressed for long.

Eventually, his nature won out, and Sonic began to wander again, but this time, not far and wide, but close to home and those who were sympathetic and supportive. Yet Sonic believed that if they knew the whole story, they'd turn their backs on him in an instant. He lost track of time, and of the days. Nothing seemed important anymore. The world be damned. Eggman could have it, for all he cared now.

The sounds of innocent laughter reached his pointed ears, and Sonic felt compelled to follow it, into the depths of the Chao Garden. The cries of a chao could be heard as one of the small creatures made its way over to the hedgehog and hug his leg appreciatively, but Sonic paid no notice. He merely bent down, pat its head, and sent it along on its way. The chao was surprised. Sonic always played with him, but he could sense that something wasn't right with his friend and caretaker, so he left him alone.

The happy melody of amusement reached Sonic's ears again as he looked up. Ah, he should have expected such a sight.

Little Cream running around without a care in the world, followed by the usually-stoic chameleon, Espio. The doe (1) shrieked joyously as the older one caught her and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly.

"Espio…stop…!" She managed to gasp between snorts and giggles. Cream's ever-present companion, Cheese, flew to her rescue, gnawing at the lizard's arms, legs, tail…just about anything he could reach as the ninja swatted at him playfully. Yet another decided to join the fray, Espio's own little chao, Sakura, (2) began to toss and tussle with Cheese in midair. After a few minutes, all four of them were on the ground and sucking in air greedily.

The cute scene tugged at Sonic's heartstrings, and he allowed himself a small smile, the first one in weeks. Ever since the unlikely two became "chao buddies," Cream began to refer to Espio casually, dropping the "Mister" from his name whenever she spoke of him. Ever the polite girl, Cream always respectfully addressed others much older than herself. There were only two other people whom Cream spoke of without a proper title. One was Amy. The other was…

"Blaze?"

Indeed it was her, the fiery cat princess from another dimension, relaxing against a tree within the garden. It seemed like only yesterday when Sonic told her the secret of the Sol Emeralds. And yet, it also felt like an eternity since then. In reality, it was probably about half a year. The guardian decided to forgo her usual purple outfit when visiting his world. She was sick of getting stared out for her attire, and instead, went on a shopping trip with Amy during one of Sonic's long absences for a more "normal" set of clothes for her visits, which were becoming more and more frequent as time went by.

Amy…everything always came back to her, didn't it?

"Sonic." The cat replied rather impassively. "Good to see you. You look rather…down."

He decided to let that slide. "What are you doing here?"

"Babysitting." Blaze replied. "Cream wanted to show me the little things that litter this place and her "chao buddy." I think she wants me to start raising one of these creatures."

"What do you think about Espio?" Sonic asked.

Blaze gazed right at him with her piercing yellow eyes. He was avoiding her comment about being upset and she knew it. Of course, she already knew why he was being so sulky. Word of Sonic and Amy's split reached even her ears. But she played along. She didn't want to push him and Sonic would approach the subject himself.

"Reminds me of myself when I first came here." She answered.

"Except more aggressive." Sonic added. And he told her the story on how Espio and Cream met, and the unlikely friendship that formed between them. "They're like brother and sister now."

There was silence for a few minutes as the two of them watched the rabbit and the chameleon play a little more.

"I…I broke up with Amy."

"I know."

With a shaky breath. Sonic told the story of the fateful night. How Amy had waited under the lamppost with pure hatred glistening in her eyes. How they had argued and how she struck him with a crippling blow. And Blaze listened. She didn't judge, she didn't comment. She just listened. When the hedgehog was done, he was on the brink of tears. The garden seemed much quieter now. Sonic couldn't hear the chao playing or Cream and Espio chasing each other around. Just his own breath and the beating of his own heart.

Cream had stopped dead in her tracks, her ears swaying behind her gracefully as if she had a head full of silky, long hair, eyes wide at the sight of her friend and one-time savior breaking down before her eyes. She stepped forward and reached a hand out.

"Mister-"

But she was cut off by a larger hand placed gently on her shoulder. She put her arm down and looked up to see her friend, chao buddy, defender, and big brother figure looking back down at her.

"Espio…what's wrong with Mister Sonic?"

And the ninja didn't know what to say to her. He knew Cream was wise beyond her years, (though she had yet to realize it) but she was also innocent and pure; something he wanted to protect while she was still young. He didn't know exactly what was bothering Sonic, but he had a pretty good guess. Cream did not understand what Sonic was going through. How could she? All she could gather was that something wasn't right.

"Cream." He said, finally. "Sonic is very upset right now. I know you want to help him, but there's nothing you can do. He needs to do this by himself."

"But…why?"

Ah, the infamous question that has sent countless parents into a mad spiral. Espio couldn't answer. In truth, he didn't know why. He, too, also couldn't understand Sonic's plight, having never experienced love. Instead, he went with the tried and true method of avoiding Cream's inquiries when he didn't know the answer.

"Come on, I'll buy you an ice cream."

But even that didn't seem to work.

"But…what about Mister Sonic?"

"He'll be okay." Espio said, knowing it was a bold faced lie. Sonic wouldn't be okay. He would probably never be the same again. Lying always left a bitter taste in his mouth, (it was why he had adopted a policy of being brutally honest while running around with the Chaotix) and lying to Cream of all people, his sort of adoptive little sister, made him feel like wringing his own neck. "You'll understand when you're older."

The little rabbit seemed to accept this, albeit unwillingly. Not even the power of ice cream could distract her from her concern. People were always telling her that she would understand when she was older. How much older did she have to be? Cream hated to feel helpless. She finally relented, taking Espio's hand and walking with him out of the garden.

"Can…can I have orange sherbet?" The doe asked weakly.

"You can have any flavor you want." He nodded, forlornly.

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The cat and the hedgehog watched the pair go, as Cheese chased after them, wanting some ice cream of his own.

"She feels for you." Blaze commented.

"Yeah…" Sonic trailed off.

"Sometimes I think Cream is far too empathetic for her own good."

"What do you mean?" He asked, blinking in confusion.

The lavender cat smirked. "Now you're looking more like yourself. What I mean is that she takes on everyone's problems and feelings as her own responsibility. She feels like she has to make you feel better. It weighs her down, and I'm sure someone will try to exploit this in the future."

"She's got Espio to guard her, she'll be fine." Sonic dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Anyone who even looks at her funny gets a shuriken in the face."

"He can't be there forever. He knows that he has to let Cream go learn things on her own eventually, but I have a feeling that he'll always be watching out for her."

"Amy wanted me to always be there." Sonic sighed.

"Did she?" Blaze raised an eyebrow as high as it would go.

"But I couldn't."

"I'm not surprised. I can't really see you staying in one place for long." Blaze shrugged. "Cream once told me that you're like the wind. I think that describes you perfectly."

"I wish I wasn't." Sonic kicked at a rock idly. "I wish I was everything Amy wanted me to be."

"Would you be happy?"

"Huh?" The blue hedgehog tore his vision away from the rock. It seemed so strange, as if he and Blaze had switched roles. She used to be the stoic one and he would be trying to coax her into letting everything out. Now she was the one playing psychologist and he was bottling things inside. "Of course I would be happy! I loved Amy, I still do."

"You would change your habits and your very being for her?"

"In a heartbeat." Sonic nodded firmly. "Anything for her."

"Would she do the same for you?"

When he didn't answer her, the feline took it as a no.

"Do you know why I am friends with Cream?"

It was Sonic's turn to elevate an eyebrow. Was Blaze changing the subject? What was she hoping to accomplish throwing this seemingly random question at him? Again, she took his silence as a no.

"Cream accepted me for who I was." The cat said. "She did not make assumptions; she approached me when others shrunk away. Cream wasn't afraid of me or my flames. Slowly, she learned about me, and even if there were parts of me she didn't agree with, she was all smiles, even when I ignored her or wished she would just go away. And still, she likes me for who I am, and she reached down and brought out parts in me that I never knew existed."

"Amy was the same way." Sonic went back to kicking his stone.

"But didn't you say she left you because she felt that you were a lie?" Blaze asked. "This is going to sound harsh, and I am sorry for every word I am going to say, but somebody needs to tell you this. Amy didn't love you."

Something inside Sonic snapped, and he hurled himself at the cat, coming in contact with her stomach and sending them both to the ground. Chao everywhere panicked and moved as quickly as possible to get away from the fight. Sonic followed up on his attack with a hook into Blaze's jaw and he grabbed the front of the brown designer coat she was wearing and slammed when he realized something.

Blaze wasn't fighting back. His grip loosened, as the cat merely removed his fingers one by one from her jacket.

"Feel better now?" She asked.

"Did I…hurt you?" Sonic cowered, as if he were a child who knew he did something wrong and waiting for punishment.

The guardian wiped a bit of blood off the corner of her mouth and raised a hand to cradle her bruised cheek. "That was much stronger than when we fought at Dead Line. I'll live. More importantly, are you all right?"

"Fine." Of course he was okay. She didn't hit him at all. It was then the hedgehog realized that she was asking about his emotional state. He did feel much better, finally being able to tell somebody his problems, and to hit something to let out the frustration. Sonic did feel a little guilty that it was his own makeshift therapist he beat up on, though. "I just lost it because you insulted Amy, and…"

"Amy is my friend, too, mind you." Blaze sighed, rolling he eyes, remembering when the pink hedgehog distracted the thick headed Knuckles long enough for her to make her escape. "I would never mock her."

"But you said…"

"What I said was she didn't love you." Blaze interjected. "What she loved was this idea of you that she formed in her head by watching you from afar. You are a hero, Sonic. You've stopped an evil genius countless times. There was no doubt that you'd have fans and admirers. Because you spent so much time running away from her, Amy's ideal version just grew and grew since she never got to know you for real. When you two finally did get together, she realized that you were not the Sonic that she imagined. Her Sonic was loyal, devoted, and the perfect spouse. While you were loyal and devoted, you were gone, and Amy was right back to where she started, chasing after you and chewing you out."

Blaze paused for a minute to smooth out her fur and let Sonic absorb all this information. When she finished preening herself, he looked ready to listen to more of what she had to say.

"Amy wanted commitment. You couldn't give it to her. It just wasn't you. Amy's Sonic would've jumped up and marry her on the spot. You didn't. As time went by, she began to realize that she did fall in love with a lie, but it was her own. So she took it out on you. You were up against a fantasy version of yourself, Sonic. You stood no chance."

As much as Sonic wanted to hit Blaze again, he knew deep down she was right. Amy did have this image of him that he slowly tore apart when they were together. She was his biggest fan, and he liked the attention he got from her, even when he actively tried to escape it. But the blame couldn't be pinned solely on her. Oh, no. If it was only her fault, Sonic wouldn't be upset with himself over it. He also was responsible. He never took the time to let Amy know the true him, the one that wasn't glorified by the newspapers and magazines. He wasn't there for her when she needed him most. Maybe he didn't love Amy. Maybe he only loved the attention he got from her.

"You're beating yourself up again." Blaze commented.

"It's my fault, too." Sonic snorted.

"Good. I can skip that part, then." Blaze smirked. Sonic was really beginning to detest that smirk.

"Maybe Amy and I just weren't meant to be."

"Don't say that." Blaze scoffed. "Nothing ever was meant to or meant not to be anything. Aren't you known for going out and making your own future?"

She was right. Again. How can someone who spent most of her life hiding her emotions know so much about them? Perhaps it was because she kept them locked away that made her an expert on them.

"Thanks for your help, Blaze." Sonic said. He felt better now, as if part of his soul was returning to him. He needed to go out and try to be himself again. Maybe find someone else to be in his life and he wouldn't make the same mistakes. It was then Sonic was again upset that the whereabouts of Amy Rose were still unknown, but for different reasons this time. He wanted to thank her for showing him his flaws, but there was no way to do that now.

"You've done a lot for me, Sonic. I was only repaying my debt." The cat princess smiled. No smirk this time. "I've spent enough time dawdling with you. I promised Vanilla I would watch Cream and I need to get to the ice cream parlor before she and Espio go who-knows-where."

Sonic laughed. "You and ice cream? You'd probably melt their entire stock."

"Do not mock me, Sonic the Hedgehog. I will hit you back next time we fight."

That shut him up instantly.

As Blaze ran gracefully with long strides and leaving a trail of ethereal flames behind her, Sonic turned and headed the other direction. He went in search of the pieces of himself, to feel whole again. And perhaps he would find someone else to adore, in memory of sweet Amy Rose, who taught him what it meant to love.

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**Deflection** – End

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**Closing Notes: **Blaze, I've come to realize, is a very difficult character to write for. So if she seems OOC, I'm very, very sorry.

(1) - Before anyone starts harping about how Cream isn't a deer...the proper word for a female rabbit is doe. Likewise, the proper world for a male is buck.

(2) - For the origins of Sakura, see _Innocence_. Sorry for the shameless plug.


End file.
